From Pity to Praise

I have found throughout my life that I should have focused on solutions, not problems. When we choose to accept God’s help, it’s easier to become part of the solution.

One thing about us humans is we tend to love materialism. That’s why most of us are in a mess. It’s a trap of self-indulgence.

1 Timothy 5:6 says, “She who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives.”

I read about a mouse in the widemouth glass gallon jar a while ago. It was about a farmer who put out a wide mouth down jar and feel it 3/4 of the way for grain and corn. The mouse was so happy to find the jar full of delicious food. He was in mouse heaven. His pleasure was great. There was so much food. The mouse would never have to look for food again. Life was easy and he was comfortable. He no longer needed to run an exercise. He would eat and sleep in the jar of grain. The mouse freely ate. Then he would sleep. Then he would eat. Then he would sleep. The mouse thought this must be heaven. The mouse never paid attention to what he was eating. The grain level got lower and lower as he got fatter and fatter.

The mouse was totally dependent on the grain in the jar. The mouse could only survive on the grain in the jar. The more the mouse ate, the lower the grain level fell until he realized he was trapped in the jar. He could see out, but he was trapped at the bottom of the jar. At first, his weight kept him from jumping out. Now he had no choice. His daily choices filled his stomach, but as the grain level lowered, the poor mouse was trapped by his choices, and he had given up all his freedom in the barn.

Self-indulgence can become a death trap. Many wonder why their problems are hurting them so badly. Sometimes the worst thing that can happen might end up being the best thing. Maybe we need to learn the lesson that in our problems, we must fight for a solution. Sometimes the worst thing that can happen might end up being the best thing.

It seems today we have a sense of entitlement and many believe they deserve something. They loved the downhill and easy daily life. Could it be that our trials, problems, and troubles are real blessings that we can’t see? Maybe this negative problem is God stretching and growing our faith. There’s nothing wrong with having pleasure. But pleasure loving can also be a death trap.

We all want things done our way. But materialism and sin has set the trap. We blame the President or ruler of the people and the Preacher. We blame God for our problems when we should be trying to find solutions on earth.

When we choose God, He promises to make a way. Whether we face the Red Sea, a giant like Goliath, or a terrible storm that tries to sink our boat, we must allow our faith in God to be bigger than our fears. God prides Himself to making ways when there seems to be no way.

“Then the Lord God took, the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work and keep it” -Genesis 2:15

I think this principle applies to our life. Everything God has given us, our marriages, our families, and our personal lives, must be worded (cultivated) and guarded. If we don’t take care of what God has entrusted us with, it will not remain the way it began.

The Bible shows that when a field is neglected, it becomes overgrown and broken down. It doesn’t happen overnight but little by little, it falls apart because no one tends to it.

This is exactly how the enemy gets into our lives. He looks for areas that are not attended to, where we have stopped investing and paying attention. These are areas of our lives where, over time, things have begun to weaken. But when we decide to stay engaged, to care for what God has given us, we close the door on the enemy (Satan).

This principle isn’t complicated, but it takes consistency. When we intentionally invest in our marriage, our families, our prayer life, your minds, and our relationship with God. We can strengthen and protect what belongs to us and position it to flourish.

Self talk is our continuous internal dialogue, shaping how we perceive ourselves and the world. Mastering it can rewrite neutral pathways, significantly reduce stress, boost confidence, and even enhance our resilience.

It can serve as a tool to regulate our emotions, improve our focus as well as promoting a proactive approach to the challenges we face in life.

King David used self-talk to encourage himself. A perfect example is Psalm 42:5, when he told himself, “Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise Him for the saving help of His presence.”

There is science behind having an inner dialogue:

• Neuro–plasticity: Engaging in positive self talk repeatedly forges new neutral pathways in our brains, favoring optimism and resilience over time.

• Emotional Regulation: Speaking to yourself using your own name or third person pronouns creates something called psychological distance.’ This helps us process emotions objectively and reduces rumination.

• Physical & Mental Health: According to the “Mayo Clinic,” shifting from negative to positive self-talk is linked to a wider array of benefits, including better cardiovascular health, reduced rates of depression, and improved coping skills during hardships.

There is a danger of negative patterns. If left unchecked, negative self talk manifests as self-criticisms, doubt, and catastrophizing.

Common traps to this are:

• Imposter syndrome: Telling ourselves, that we don’t belong here, everyone else is smarter than us.

• Overgenrailzation: Thinking, ‘I messed up the presentation, so I’m a complete failure.”

• Fear of Failure: When we conclude, “I will never be able to pull this off, so I shouldn’t ever try.”

There are some actionable strategies that you can do that can help us change.

We can actively reshape our inner voices through conscious habit-building:

• Catch: When we notice our thoughts drift into criticism or defeat.
• Check: As can ask ourselves, ‘Is this thought actually true, or is it an exaggerated fear?’
• Change: We can reframe our statement. For example, instead of saying ‘I can’t do this.’ The objective would be third-person encouragement, such as ‘I have the ability to figure this out if I take this one step at a time.

“Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.”

The writer of the Book of Hebrews still remains a mystery today. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it.

The writer gives four anchors to help us secure our faith: don’t drift, see Jesus, follow Jesus, and trust Jesus. Jesus entered our humanity, tasted death for us, and now calls us brothers and sisters. He is our “trailblazer” who leads many of us to glory. Even when we feel overwhelmed by questions or disappointment.

Hebrews warns us against drifting so far that we lose sight of Jesus Himself. We can remain anchored to Jesus even when our faith feels fragile. Jesus still stands as the anchor who frees us from fear and strengthens our faith with every storm we face.

I would like to focus on the key takeaways we can learn from Hebrews:

• Don’t Drift: Pay close attention to Jesus. Faith weakens us gradually when we neglect what we’ve heard.
• See Jesus: Fix your eyes on the One who became human and tasted death for us
• Follow Jesus: He is the One who goes before us and builds faith, not a bunch of rules.
• Trust Jesus: Through His death and resurrection, He breaks the power of fear and the hold of death.

• Jesus Understands: Because He suffered and was tempted, He is able to help those who struggle with doubt and temptation.

Simon the Sorcerer captivated Samaria with flashy magic until Phillips gospel brought real power, exposing a heart more interested in spectacle than salvation. When Simon tried to buy the Holy Spirit’s gift, Peter’s rebuke revealed a faith that was all show and no substance.

The account of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts is a perfect example of God seeing our intentions and not the mask.

Simon was a new believer who had forsaken his old way of life and had recently been baptized. He was amazed at the powerful work of God he was seeing in his town. Most amazing of all, Simon watched as people received the Holy Spirit when the apostles laid their hands on them. He had practiced magic most of his life, but he had never seen anything like this before, and he wanted in on the action.

In Acts 8:18, Simon says, “Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the emissaries’ hands, he offered them money.”

The apostles were doing a good work and Simon wanted to be involved.

Well, it seems that Simon desires were a good thing, we see other wise in Peter’s response. He states, “May your silver perish with you, because you though you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part not lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God…for I see that you are in the Gail of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” (Acts 8:20-23 summarized).

Simon was mistaken to believe that he could purchase this gift for money. Peter was guided by the Holy Spirit that His heart was not right with his request. While Simon outwardly desired a good gift, his heart motivations were wrong and deep down he was filled with bitterness and equity. But, the Lord rebukes him through Peter.

As humans, we naturally view the world through what we see with our eyes. Someone might have certain outward actions that are commendable, but scripture teaches that God doesn’t look merely at the outward action, he examined the motives of our hearts. Doing good things for all the wrong reasons does not police God.

Scripture often remind us that God cares about our heart and our motivations instead of just the external work we do.

There are many scriptures that tells us God looks at our intentions:

Proverbs 16:2 tells us, “All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, but the Lord examines the motives.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, God said, “Samuel, Do not look on his face or the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For I don’t se as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.“

Jeremiah 17:10, “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.

Genesis 6:5, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil.”

This doesn’t mean our external actions don’t matter, they certainly do. God sees what we do and why we do it and take both into account. Outward obedience is widely important, but it’s not all that is needed.

It’s important not to be like the Pharisees who work so please with their outward works, they never examine their motivations. Their self righteousness didn’t lead to life, it kept them from true healing and grace. The good news is that we can evaluate ourselves truly and honestly because we need not fear condemnation.

I believe we need to ask ourselves some time to time whether our motivations lineup with God standard. We can repent our sin and confess. We can plead with God to continue to work. He began in our heart and mow our thoughts and desires to look more like Him.

There is grace when we are honest about our motivations and plead for mercy and for the power of the Holy Spirit to bring change. Only He can bring internal change that is visible through our external actions.